


The Void

by Stephicness



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Fleurentia Week, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Promptio, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Oops, Sex Worker!Ignis, Trying and Failing at Writing Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 18:08:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13664439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stephicness/pseuds/Stephicness
Summary: "After a series of events piling onto his life, Ravus ends up receiving the number of a man of many special 'talents.' He couldn't help but find himself wondering if it was a mistake calling this man in the first place."Rated M for Mature Subject MatterFor Fleurentia Week on Tumblr, Day 2: Sex Worker AU/Hedonism





	The Void

Perhaps it was a mistake all it itself to have called the number. A mistake to have requested the man who had solicited his services to him before. A mistake that he waited so eagerly in the dimly lit hotel room for the man to arrive. And yet, why was it that he still allowed himself to make such a mistake? He could only sit there, fingers gently tapping on the table by the window as he stared out with an absent-minded gaze.

Should he call him back and cancel such plans? It wasn’t too late to do that, right? He reached over and grabbed his phone. His thumb remained curled for a moment over the arrows of the phone until he hovered over the call button. A simple call and it would be over. He wouldn’t have to follow through with any of this. He would be mistake free for once in his life.

He should have pressed the button, but his hesitation made him a moment too late. Knuckles rapped against the door, just loud enough to alert the lonely man, but refrain from disrupting the solemn air around him. His hand flexed and snapped the silver phone shut, the device being tossed aside before he rose to his feet and approached the door. It wouldn’t be too late to abandon his intentions, he thought. Simply remain quiet as the ghost of himself, waiting for impatience to settle on the opposite side of the door until they finally departed. It was all he had to do. It would all be over in mere moments, if he did so.

His hand rested over the door handle, gripping tighter as if to cease the tremors in his fingertips. It was a simple meeting, so why was he so shaken? His eyebrows furrowed with a breath weighing on him, like rocks in his lungs. And only upon its release that he had finally been able to tear open the door.

Green eyes turned themselves to look upwards when the door opened, a gaze that caused the oxygen to cease in the man’s lungs for a split second as he was hypnotized by the spectacle-sporting stranger. A gaze that looked far more innocent than his intentions truly were. Hair the color of coffee mixed with milk was pushed back with messy little strands hanging in front of his face. And though disheveled, it only added a sense of sensuality with his appearance as the rest of his outfit was primed and pressed with precision and style. The man couldn’t help but lose himself in the emerald pools that locked onto his own weary gaze.

 A smile so soft seemed to melt away whatever cold thoughts of abandonment that he had before. Gloved fingers had reached up, brushing over the contours of the man’s neck. His eyes observed the perfect stranger, curiosity focused on their lips as they guided them to brush over his cheek. The warmth was enough to provoke an involuntary shiver down his spine as his grip threatened to break the door handle from the initial shock. It had been far too long, it seemed.

“You must be Ignis.”

“And you must be Ravus. Might I come inside?”

The man turned to look at the stranger when the whisper trailed from his ear and green eyes met the somber heterochromatic eyes once more. Such an expression was lethal, but one that he found himself unable to refuse when he stepped aside and gestured for Ignis to enter the room. He eyed the surroundings as if hoping it wouldn’t backfire against him before he turned inside and allowed the door to shut behind himself.

Ravus watched when Ignis observed the room, digits painting over the marble and wood furniture. He was an elegant piece of architecture all in its own -- for no piece of artwork could stand in the stranger’s grace. His voice was just as beautiful when he spoke melodies with his words.

“I assume that you were told of my talents prior to me coming here?” A sultry glance directed itself over his shoulder at Ravus. “Hopefully one of them will be able to satisfy your needs tonight.”

“Perhaps…” Ravus cleared his throat of the grating feeling before he advanced towards the other man with tempered steps. “Unless my request will be far too much for you. You are more than welcome to depart the moment it becomes distasteful to you.”

“So long as the price is right, I’m sure.” Ignis turned towards Ravus to return the advance until the two stood inches from each other. “A hundred-thousand gil per hour, unfortunately. But the price should say measures about just what skills I possess.”

“You do not need to inflate your ego anymore than you need to. Your stature says it all.”

Ignis couldn’t help but chuckle in response. A man who enjoyed modesty. Fair enough, he supposed. Ignis reached up once more to caress the other man’s neck with his hands, thumbs painting themselves over the brooding man’s sharp jawline. A coy smirk played over his thin lips as his hands slid themselves down over his broad shoulders. “Whatever it is you wish to do, I’d be happy to abide and give you exactly what you desire.”

His words seemed to trail off when his hands wandered lower down Ravus’s arms. The empty sleeve was more of a surprise than Ignis was expecting. And when he retracted his hand from the coat sleeve, a chuckle came from Ravus as Ignis’s eyes surveyed the broken smile. “What I desire is not something you can give, unfortunately. Ease, perhaps, but not remedy.”

He noticed how the brown-haired man kept his attention on the missing limb there -- perhaps too entranced by how someone could function without something important there. The older man shook his head, taking Ignis’s chin underneath his index finger to tilt his gaze upwards from the empty place there. “I will say this once more: if you do not wish to proceed, then you do not have to. I will pay you what is owed, and you may resume your life as you see fit. I won’t be upset or bothered, I assure you.”

“No, it’s alright.” The stranger allowed himself to wrap his arms around Ravus’s neck, slow as if hoping not to break him more than he already was. From the first moment he laid eyes on the older man, he knew something was odd about him. It reminded Ignis of something that he couldn’t quite place his finger on. “I’ll adjust. Because in the end, tonight is about you. How does that sound?”

Ravus’s gaze hung for a moment as he felt lips pressing against his jaw and necks. Hand rested itself at his side with little motivation to embrace him in return. But the touch itself was enough to ease the tension, if not just a little. He was guided back by Ignis, shuffling in rhythm to the lips against his skin and the steps like partners on the dance floor. It wasn’t until he found himself guided back onto the bed that he noticed the other man’s intentions. A panther stalking is prey, Ignis crawled over Ravus. Hands rested by the silver-haired man’s face while knees secured themselves around his hips. A man trapped by the beauty above him as a sly smile captured Ravus’s attention.

Ignis leaned down until lips ghosted over Ravus’s and words grazed his flesh. “With such a sorrowful expression, you deserve to feel bliss and melt it all away.”

The silver-haired man was silent at his words. The silence itself caused for some alarm and curiosity as Ignis pulled away to look down at him. The expression on the other man’s face wasn’t one of displeasure as Ignis had anticipated. Instead, it was as if Ravus was daydreaming, unfocused and dazed in the reality that he was shackled to. It was like Ravus was staring through him. Was there something wrong? Ignis didn’t get the chance to adjust himself before he felt slender fingers splay over his cheek, icy and cold -- the embodiment of death.

That’s what Ravus reminded Ignis of.

A corpse devoid of what life once existed. What happiness and emotion it had possessed before. Never had he seen a man with such a broken heart.

And the heartbreak was contagious, the contortion in his chest physically painful. Ignis’s gaze softened as he whispered with a mournful tone. “What has caused such a broken expression on such a handsome man?”

“More than you can understand, I’m afraid. And I hope that you never have to feel this emptiness in your life either.” He brushed his knuckles across the stranger’s cheek. Indeed… It was a mistake that he had called the man here for his own selfish needs. With the intent to distract himself from the thought of his despair, he only found guilt. It was not Ignis’s burden to bear. He was not the cure to his misery. But even so, Ravus found himself craving something from Ignis. Not sex or passion, but something far more tempting than that.

“I feel as if my intentions have changed,” Ravus murmured. Ignis tilted his head inquisitively before he sat onto his lap. When Ravus sat upright, he investigated the emerald gaze once again. The hesitation from before only turned to eagerness as his arm wrapped itself around Ignis. A secured but gentle hold with Ravus burying his face into the other man’s shoulder. He didn’t utter another word. He didn’t need to when he felt Ignis embrace him with a tighter hold. Shoulders eased themselves from the returning gesture and allowed his eyes to drift shut. “Just… Bear with me and allow this for a moment.”

It was usually Ignis’s job to create a temporary illusion of companionship for others. He brought out their deepest desires and provoked lust from them to where all they craved was the need to appease it all. They craved love, sex, and sin. And yet, when meeting this strange and lonely man, it wasn’t lust that Ravus sought. It was peace from the turmoil that wrought over Ravus’s being. A solace and cure for the despair that twisted him into such a depressing figure. There were many lonely people out there, but Ignis was never faced with someone as broken as the silver-haired man.

He had thought that perhaps sex would be the cure to his sadness, but alas, it was far from it. Instead, Ignis allowed himself to be embraced by Ravus. He even so much adjusted himself onto the bed further, guiding Ravus to his side and pulling him against his chest. The simple sound of a beating heart, the tender touch that painted over his back – they were gestures that released the tension in Ravus’s shoulders as Ignis pressed his lips to his forehead.

“Take all the time that you need.”

 

* * *

 

“So…? How did it go?”

Ignis couldn’t help but eye his coworker over the top of his coffee cup. Of all the times to ask him these sorts of questions, he asked when he was about to indulge on his morning coffee. It was always a rule of his: never interrupt his morning coffee. And yet his brutish, tattoo-stained co-worker always managed to violate this rule and ask him as soon as he was about to take a sip of his Ebony. How dare he. If he wanted an answer, he would have to wait. And Ignis made this very clear as he shot his hand out and placed a gloved finger over the other barista’s lips. Green eyes locked onto the amber gaze as he took a very long and very loud sip of his coffee.

And with a smack of his lips when he lowered his cup, he was finally able to answer. “It went well.”

“That’s it?” The tattooed man moved Ignis’s hand out of his face as he leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his apron as he cocked his head. “Thought you had a big client yesterday. That CEO guy or something?”

“I did, yes. And didn’t you have that one freckled boy as your client yesterday? I’m surprised he managed to muster up the gil to afford you, Gladio.”

Gladiolus scoffed in response, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Well, he seemed desperate and cute. Gave him a discount in exchange for taking a few pictures of my good side. You know, for ‘business.’”

“Your ego strikes once again, it seems.” Ignis glanced aside as he took another sip of his coffee. Gladiolus was most likely expecting some sort of elaborate tale of spoils from the night before, but spoils wouldn’t be something to describe it as.

The night was solemn – not full of the excitement that Gladiolus was hoping for. The silver-haired man did not demand sex, nor did he force Ignis to do anything he didn’t wish to do. True to his promise, he paid Ignis regardless of what had happened that night: five-hundred thousand gil left on the bedside by the eve’s end. A relatively easy payment for the two merely spent a quiet evening together doing such mundane activities – lying in bed as Ignis and the other man embraced, suggesting for room service to bring them a sweet dessert when the silence became too unbearable. The most risqué activity they did was take a bath together, which Ignis prompted to propose the sex that he was hired for. But alas, Ignis could not bring himself to seduce him. Seeing those blue eyes so full of melancholy felt as if the demons were staring into Ignis’s soul, pulling him into the feeling until Ignis desired nothing more than for the torment to vanish.

Ignis couldn’t help but recall the man’s words as he closed his eyes in thought. He too hoped that the man wouldn’t have to feel such emptiness in his life, but it seemed like he was too late to wish for such.

“You gonna tell me what happened last night, Iggy? It’s not like you have a ‘never kiss and tell’ policy anyways.”

“Really? When we’re supposed to be working right now?”

“Nobody’s looking for coffee right now, so we don’t need to be their baristas yet.”

Ignis chuckled and shook his head. He made a good point, he supposed. It was rather slow today at the coffee shop. He eventually opened his eyes towards the ground, a sigh pushing from his nostrils as he set his coffee cup aside. He took a beat before he rested against the counter on his arms. “Have you ever met someone that you knew was broken?”

Gladiolus arched an eyebrow. “Like, a broken limb or something? Yeah, I guess. If you count Noct breaking his tailbone that one time.”

“I don’t mean that,” Ignis replied. “By broken, I mean that when you investigate their eyes, you can see their sorrow, their pain. As if the only thing keeping them together was any sort of sign that they still exist. Some way, somehow.” He looked back up to Gladiolus. “A person so broken that you can see the void in them staring back at you?”

“That’s… An intense way to describe someone. Must have gotten a weird guy last night.” Gladiolus turned serious as he faced Ignis, palm flat on the counter as a stern expression spread over his scarred face. “Did he do anything bad to you last night? If we gotta tell Cor about this, then- “

“No, Gladio. He didn’t do anything that I didn’t want to do. In fact, we didn’t even have sex.”

Gladiolus gawked. “Seriously? He paid you to not bang his brains out? Easiest gil of your life then.”

“Yes… I suppose it was.” He watched as Gladiolus turned away to tidy up the counters again. It would have been the easiest gil Ignis had ever earned… Had he taken the money, that is. The night continued. As the older man was lulled to rest, Ignis couldn’t bring himself to take the money before he left. It taunted him, yes, but Ignis refrained. Something about taking the money didn’t feel right. He was hired for sex, so failing to have sex meant that the money wasn’t his to take. Right?

Ignis released another sigh before he pushed himself up from his place. Just in time to hear the shop’s bell ring, Ignis had to shake himself from his thoughts. In the end, it was just another day for his job. Life would move on, and the sorrowful man would move along with his life as well. They were just two strangers, searching for a way to defeat the darkness in their hearts. He just hoped that Ravus was able to beat such a darkness…

He readied his breath to recite his greeting to the customer, and yet his words locked in his throat as he marveled at the man before the counter. A familiar stature dawning a white and violet suit with familiar heterochromatic eyes peering back with the same surprise that Ignis had. The silence settled between the two, only the faint chiming of ceramics echoing around them as Gladiolus worked nearby. It wasn’t until the customer cleared his throat, bowing his head for a moment before recollecting himself enough to muster the courage to break the silence.

“I suppose Izunia was right. Coffee brewing was one of your many talents, it seems…”

Not exactly what Ignis was expecting as a greeting, but he honestly found it humbling enough to provoke a quite laugh from the barista. “Well, I do try to market myself as accurately as possible.”

“So it seems…”

The silence returned once again.

“I… Was not expecting to see you here, in all honesty.” Ravus glanced towards Gladiolus for a split second before dropping the volume of his voice for Ignis to hear. “I believe you forgot your compensation for last night’s endeavors.”

Ignis’s gaze faltered and wandered to the counter. “I don’t forget anything, actually. Since I didn’t have sex with you last night, I wouldn’t have been able to accept your gil regardless. My services are selective, after all, and you asked for things that I normally don’t charge for.”

“I see,” Ravus mused. He trailed off in his tone with the hushed atmosphere following. Ravus took a moment to ponder his thoughts before he looked to Ignis once again. “Allow me to thank you then.”

“For what?”

“For not allowing the void to consume me once and for all.” Ignis froze at Ravus’s words, green eyes meeting the blue gaze. He noticed just how soft his eyes were. And though just as weary as the night before, there was something different in the way that the man looked at his perfect stranger. “With the recent events occurring all at once, I found it… Unbearable. I had hoped that my last night would allow me the chance to numb the pain, so I would not have to feel it in the end. But meeting you… It showed me that perhaps there was still light out there willing illuminate a path from the darkness I found myself consumed in. It gave me the will to wake up another day – for knowing there was a soul as considerate and as patient as you meant that I still had a task to fulfill.”

Ignis could feel his chest tighten at Ravus’s words. Even when trying to be optimistic, the other man’s words were dismal. Consumed by darkness. Finding it ‘unbearable,’ and wanting to ‘numb the pain…’ What was Ravus’s true intention for hiring Ignis last night? Ignis seemed to slowly understand what Ravus was saying in his cryptic, poetic words. Last night would have been Ravus’s last day on Earth, had it not been for Ignis. He had no idea of Ravus’s mysterious behavior, but it seemed to make sense when Ignis had observed Ravus last night. It wasn’t just a broken man that Ignis had seen – it was a man who lost his will to live.

And were it not for Ignis remaining there to pick up the pieces, perhaps Ravus would not be standing there before him.

Perhaps Ignis would not have been able to gaze into the soft blue eyes as they filled with light.

Perhaps Ignis would not have been able to see the gentle smile that played over Ravus’s lips.

“Thank you, Ignis. Thank you for being my light in this void.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, like, I took a little bit of inspiration from all the prompts as I was writing this, because this was a pretty intense writing as I progressed through it. It started off with a simple idea, but it kinda got a bit more intense as I was writing it. And not in the naughty way how I wanted to! Instead, it got into a bit more of an exploration of companionship and the influence people can have on others.
> 
> And then here we are! With one of the first fics I’ve written in an insanely long time. It kind of has this vagueness as I was writing it, but it was ultimately a fun writing to work on. Hope you enjoyed the read!


End file.
